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Synopsis

A simple—and simply beautiful—story for young cat lovers.

One beautiful autumn day, Nini, a little tabby cat, sees that the door is open. The garden and nearby woods seem to beckon her to explore. Nini thinks the great outdoors is really, really, really nice . . . until night falls and strange animals begin sniffing and hooting and lurking about. Suddenly there is no place like home. This warm and reassuring picture book speaks to children whose curiosity has tempted them to “run away” from home. Caldecott Honor Book artist Anita Lobel’s illustrations have never been more beautiful. Endearing portraits of her own beloved Nini cat in a lush autumnal setting will gladden the hearts of cat lovers of all ages.

Anita Lobel

About Anita Lobel

Anita Lobel is well known and well loved by picture-book fans young and old, most recently for Taking Care of Mama Rabbit, 10 Hungry Rabbits, and Lena’s Sleep Sheep. She received a Caldecott Honor for her illustrations in On Market Street, and her memoir, No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War, was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Ms. Lobel lives in New York City. She enjoyed revisiting the alphabet and painting an ABC parade of pigs in costumes for this book. You can visit her gallery of animals and other paintings, as well as see a complete list of her books, at anita-lobel.com.

Praise

Praise

"There is just enough tension for the preschool audience here, but the pictures, even the semi-scary nighttime spreads, are too bountifully warm to leave anything but a happy ending in doubt." --The Horn Book, starred-The Horn Book, starred

"It's almost impossible to glimpse Nini the tabby cat on the cover of Lobel's new book and not open it." –The New York Times

"Told with an elegant simplicity that children will appreciate, this is filled with Lobel's endearing watercolor-and-gouache artwork, with big swirls of emotion and the tiniest nod of relief in a little cat's upturned lip. A wonderful read-aloud, with the length of the text, the size of the art, and the adventure of the tale all being just right." –Booklist, starred

"Lobel captures a cat’s clear, opinionated and lovably hedonistic thinking in her simple storytelling. She also introduces the joys of home, the thrill of freedom and the scariness of the unknown to young readers, who will strain to hear the calls of Nini’s owners in the night." –Kirkus, starred